ACR Journal

Coolair supports women in ACR Coolair.indd 1 02/02/2021 11:32 better understand their needs or learning how to deliver a webinar to hundreds of viewers, my role gives me the space to spread my wings. As a management team, here at Climalife, we are incredibly well supported through mentoring and developmental training. With strong family values, Climalife is very much about supporting and developing everyone to achieve their full potential and recognises that, with the right support, the younger team members can be the future leaders of the company. Whilst I have always been ambitious, I see growth in so many di erent ways now. It’s not just about a job title anymore, it’s about recognition, support, flexibility, trust and responsibility… and so much more. What is the best piece of advice you were ever given? There are two pieces of advice that I have followed me throughout my career. The first is a question I ask myself when spending on behalf of the company: “If it was my money, would I buy it?” The second is to never be afraid to ask the question and never assume anything. I am very lucky at Climalife to be working with so many technical experts and we all work closely when creating marketing material and articles. I work on the basis that before I can write about something, I need understand the detail. And if I don’t, how can I expect my reader to understand. What do you see as the challenges facing the industry? I see two big challenges within our industry and they are both interlinked. The first is the speed of change and the second is training. The world is changing and the pressure to reduce the use of high GWP refrigerants is increasing. New equipment is being introduced but sometimes, the refrigerant decisions being taken are not as fully informed as they could be. It is no longer just about the GWP of a refrigerant, it’s about the energy e ciency of the system as a whole, and the longevity of the products being specified for use. Training from companies like Climalife is available to really support this. Having also been involved in activity with the colleges o ering training to our engineers of the future, I often hear talk of how much value is placed on the trainers and I feel more could be done to support and recognise them and the future training for our industry. What would you say to other women who are considering coming into the ACR industry? I love working within our industry. Whatever our gender, the industry is friendly and welcoming and it is good to see it becoming more diverse as the years go on. I was really encouraged to see more females competing at the RACHP skills competitions this year and would love to see more awareness of jobs within our industry accessible to younger age groups. Initiatives such as STEMazing for example are a great step in exciting our engineers of tomorrow. At the recent National ACR & Heat Pump awards in Leeds I was lucky enough to meet with a great bunch of women who have all achieved great things in this industry. This can only grow and get better and it’s good to see acknowledgement and recognition shared all round. Is there a little-known fact about yourself that would surprise other people? I really love music and as some of my colleagues will know, I am a huge Simple Minds fan. For those that are too young to know, they are a band from the 80s, still touring today and still have a pretty big following. After a concert, my best friend and I can normally be found at the stage door waiting to meet the band!! I love live music and recently had the opportunity to visit Glastonbury – an experience that will stay with me forever! Alongside this I also play the piano, I love to read crime novels and get out with the family in the open air with our dog Dexter. CMYK / .ai CMYK / .ai CMYK / .ai acrjournal.uk 33 SPONSORED BY COOLAIR